Episode 74: How To Be A Supervillain with Ben Settle

Ben Settle is a copywriter and a semi-professional bum. He works about 10-minutes a day writing his daily email and then goofs off for the rest of the day. Ben discusses with me why the world needs more supervillains, not superheros, on this week’s episode. He also shares his thoughts on why your personal mission is so important as well as why arrogant clients are good clients!

Key Points

[1:15] Who is Ben? [4:00] Why should you be a villain? [8:10] What’s Ben’s most important business principle? [9:15] Ben thinks accountability groups are stupid. [10:05] When you have an important mission in your life, your path becomes clearer and easier to follow. [13:35] The best villains are super patient. They understand it takes time to build something meaningful. [16:20] How does Ben handle the naysayers? [18:00] Ben wants people to disagree with him. [20:40] You can work with arrogant clients, but you cannot work with people who are both arrogant and ignorant. If you find someone like this, run! [21:35] What are Ben’s thoughts on needy people? [23:40] How do you get over being needy? [31:00] Ben offers some advice for new copywriters trying to break into the space. [34:00] Who’s Ben’s all time favorite villain?

A book not just for those running their own business but also for those who have company marketing managers.

I started a new job – to run a company outstation. I was told marketing etc was taken care of … well, it became clear it wasn’t working. I've no background in marketing but it was very apparent I had to take action. Vicky’s book and her 49 Ideas gave me the courage to question our company’s marketing strategy and try something different for my outstation.

I’ve only just started implementing and it’s early days but there are signs that it’s working better than the approach taken by our marketing manager!

I would also add it can help if your life in general has hit a rut and needs a jumpstart to get out of it!